I saw Cop Out last night and let me just say this: I wasn't disappointed.
The story follows two joke making cops (Tracey Morgan and Bruce Willis) and the crazy things they call "policework". When they are suspended for misconduct, Bruce Willis must find a way to pay for his daughter's wedding. His solution is to sell his father's baseball card, but when the card is stolen, they go on a mission to get it back. All the while, they have to deal with Mexican drug trafficking.
The story was actually fairly nonsensical. It was simplistic and cliche, but in a comedy like this I think it works. By making the overarching problems and goals silly, the comedic elements are enhanced and the jokes are highlighted more than the story. It made sense and wasn't overly complicated, what more can you ask for in a comedy? The acting of all but the main characters seemed to fall flat, which was dissapointing. But the big three (Willis, Scott, and Morgan) were all very good.
The jokes themselves were clearly made for Tracey Morgan and Seann William Scott, and they were funny because of those specific actors. I wish Scott was in it a little more, as his dynamic with Morgan was hilarious. Morgan's interaction with Bruce Willis worked surpiringly well too, and I think it was Scott and Willis that allowed Morgan to be so funny. Willis didn't really have as many funny lines as the rest, but he was definitely needed to facilitate jokes. The humor got stagnent at times, but it had its moments of hilarity.
One last thing that surprised me was the enormous amount of pop culture references. There were two Star Wars references in the first five minutes and that certainly made me happy. There were at least 30 pop culture references, and I'm sure there were at least a dozen others that went right over my head.
Not a bad movie overall, with some great one-liners. Great job by Morgan and Willis. 3/5 stars
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Valentine's Day
I saw Valentine's Day this weekend and now I don't even know what to say about it. There was so much going on that it's hard to know where to start.
The plot consisted of several (at least eight) different plotlines, all running parallel and loosely connected in some way. Most were based on classic romantic cliches, such as the boy with a crush on his teacher, the jock and the ditz, and the good old married boyfiend. A couple unexpected twists kept it from being completely unoriginal, but they were nothing that hasn't been tried before. Predictible from the very start. The transition from story to story was intelligently done, but no amount of intelligence could keep the jumble from getting confusing. Two or three too many unique storylines.
The star power was a redeming factor here. A movie with 15+ big names can't be all bad, and the plethora a big talent kept it from being a snoozefest.There are too many characters to list here (or maybe I'm just too lazy), so go to imdb if you really need to know the names of all the stars you already know. If you think they are in it, they probably are. Notable performances include Taylor Swift (shockingly well done) and Ashton Kutcher. Great job by both of them.
It's hard to leave Valentine's Day feeling unhappy, despite its cliche nature. Throwing money and stars at the holiday of love is bound to be a box office hit. The movie is a sucess in that regard, and definitely made money. It was a mess, but an upbeat mess with the people everyone loves. 2/5 stars
The plot consisted of several (at least eight) different plotlines, all running parallel and loosely connected in some way. Most were based on classic romantic cliches, such as the boy with a crush on his teacher, the jock and the ditz, and the good old married boyfiend. A couple unexpected twists kept it from being completely unoriginal, but they were nothing that hasn't been tried before. Predictible from the very start. The transition from story to story was intelligently done, but no amount of intelligence could keep the jumble from getting confusing. Two or three too many unique storylines.
The star power was a redeming factor here. A movie with 15+ big names can't be all bad, and the plethora a big talent kept it from being a snoozefest.There are too many characters to list here (or maybe I'm just too lazy), so go to imdb if you really need to know the names of all the stars you already know. If you think they are in it, they probably are. Notable performances include Taylor Swift (shockingly well done) and Ashton Kutcher. Great job by both of them.
It's hard to leave Valentine's Day feeling unhappy, despite its cliche nature. Throwing money and stars at the holiday of love is bound to be a box office hit. The movie is a sucess in that regard, and definitely made money. It was a mess, but an upbeat mess with the people everyone loves. 2/5 stars
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Cinderella Man
We watched Cinderella Man in class this week, so it seemed fitting that I review it.
The film (based on a true story) follows an aging James Braddock (Russel Crowe), a boxer from New Jersey who started off his career on a run leading to an eventual defeat to the titleholder. After breaking his hand multiple times and posting a losing streak, Braddock is forced to retire. After working a ton of hours to support his family (the film takes place in the 30s), his manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) gets him a fight as much needed income. Braddock defies the odds, wins multiple times, and ends up getting a shot at the title and wins in what turns out to be one of boxing's biggest upsets of all time.
The cast of this movie was top notch. Crowe put on a fantastic performance, especially when dealing with the children. He played a very convincing 30s-man and captured the time period beautifully. Giamatti put on the best performance of his career in my opinion. It was very believable and perfectly emotion-laced. Renee Zellweger was good as Mae as well. The rest of the cast put on performances that were good enough to support that powerhouse threesome.
The story was written very well, but it felt slow and cumbersome at times. The writers appeared to be indecisive on whether this movie should focus on the boxing world, or on the Depression life of Braddock. By emphasising both equally, the movie felt a bit disjointed and slightly drawn out. The dialogue was very well written and it captured the time period perfectly.
Lastly, the boxing scenes themselves were done very well. The action was well choreographed and very believable. The actors cast as Braddock's opponents were good for the job, as was Crowe himself.
A good movie overall, despite it's belabored approach to storytelling. Well done. 4/5 stars
The film (based on a true story) follows an aging James Braddock (Russel Crowe), a boxer from New Jersey who started off his career on a run leading to an eventual defeat to the titleholder. After breaking his hand multiple times and posting a losing streak, Braddock is forced to retire. After working a ton of hours to support his family (the film takes place in the 30s), his manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) gets him a fight as much needed income. Braddock defies the odds, wins multiple times, and ends up getting a shot at the title and wins in what turns out to be one of boxing's biggest upsets of all time.
The cast of this movie was top notch. Crowe put on a fantastic performance, especially when dealing with the children. He played a very convincing 30s-man and captured the time period beautifully. Giamatti put on the best performance of his career in my opinion. It was very believable and perfectly emotion-laced. Renee Zellweger was good as Mae as well. The rest of the cast put on performances that were good enough to support that powerhouse threesome.
The story was written very well, but it felt slow and cumbersome at times. The writers appeared to be indecisive on whether this movie should focus on the boxing world, or on the Depression life of Braddock. By emphasising both equally, the movie felt a bit disjointed and slightly drawn out. The dialogue was very well written and it captured the time period perfectly.
Lastly, the boxing scenes themselves were done very well. The action was well choreographed and very believable. The actors cast as Braddock's opponents were good for the job, as was Crowe himself.
A good movie overall, despite it's belabored approach to storytelling. Well done. 4/5 stars
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Dear John
While on leave from the army, John Tyree (Channing Tatum) falls in love with a conservative Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried). When John is away, they write a series of letters to one another, keeping the love alive. When John reenlists, however, the time away starts to put a strain on the relationship.
The story here was absolutely top notch; the writers got it all right with this one. Although slow at times, the plot line is compelling from start to finish with plenty of uncertainty to keep the viewers on their toes. There was enough love in all the right places and the perfect number of tear-inducing moments to go along with it.
The acting, however, was another story. Seyfriend did a fairly good job with "good girl" Savannah, but I'm afraid the same can't be said for Tatum. Although he is getting better, his emotionless face leaves much to be desired and much of the emotion that does exists seems forced. The dynamic between the two actors was compelling enough to note though. Henry Thomas had a great performance as Tim, doing a great job of portraying a carefree man who's forced to care when faced with very real problems. Also, another great performance by Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree, the autistic father of John. The acting of most of the rest was fairly mediocre, with no one in particular to point out.
Not a bad movie, although I wish they would stop complimenting superb writing with less than superb acting. Sure, women like to look at Channing, but eventually it's going to get old. Overall, it was enjoyable. 3.5/5 stars
The story here was absolutely top notch; the writers got it all right with this one. Although slow at times, the plot line is compelling from start to finish with plenty of uncertainty to keep the viewers on their toes. There was enough love in all the right places and the perfect number of tear-inducing moments to go along with it.
The acting, however, was another story. Seyfriend did a fairly good job with "good girl" Savannah, but I'm afraid the same can't be said for Tatum. Although he is getting better, his emotionless face leaves much to be desired and much of the emotion that does exists seems forced. The dynamic between the two actors was compelling enough to note though. Henry Thomas had a great performance as Tim, doing a great job of portraying a carefree man who's forced to care when faced with very real problems. Also, another great performance by Richard Jenkins as Mr. Tyree, the autistic father of John. The acting of most of the rest was fairly mediocre, with no one in particular to point out.
Not a bad movie, although I wish they would stop complimenting superb writing with less than superb acting. Sure, women like to look at Channing, but eventually it's going to get old. Overall, it was enjoyable. 3.5/5 stars
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Early week TV
I've already got so much TV to talk about and it's only Tuesday, so I figured I'd never make it until the end of the week. Lots of interesting things to talk about.
I have to start with American Idol tonight. Ellen made her debut and she certainly didn't disappoint. I find her hilarious and she lived up to that here. Plus, she didn't argue with Simon, a rumor that I had hoped wasn't true and am glad to see that it isn't. That judge drama was getting on my nerves big time. Anyway, certainly glad to have Ellen on board.
The talent this season seems thin, but really strong among those who stand above the rest. Andrew Garcia, the young father trying to better his struggling family, completely blew me away tonight. Not only was his voice right on the money, but h has a beautiful tone to his voice and a soft yet commanding stage presence that warms the heart. Watch out for this guy; he's for real.
Moving on, Monday night is still my favorite pretty much solely due to The Big Bang Theory. This week had quite a bit of character development, all wrapped in the candy shell that is Sheldon's insanity. He was hilarious as always, begging unrelentingly for Leonard to take him to see the Large Haldron Collider rather than Penny. Problem is, it's valentines day and Leonard just wants time away with his girlfriend. I won't give it away, but the writers found a clever and surprisingly funny resolution to the conflict.
Going back a little bit further, I want to touch on the Superbowl commercials a little bit. I tend to disagree with the masses that the Doritos commercial with the protective child was the best. For me, a different Doritos commercial takes the title: the Dorito samurai guy. Hilarious. They really pulled out all the stops this year and spent a boatload on advertising. A smart move in my opinion for the extremely competitive snack food business.
Am I the only one getting sick of these talking babies? I mean, it's funny the first few times but then it starts to get creepy. Not to mention the fact that these children are posed for hours at a time for their parents' monetary gain. Bad, Etrade, bad. /end rant
Budweiserfelt pretty week this year, as did Coke. Although, the Coke commercial with the Simpsons was pretty cute. Could have used more humor, but it was fairly effective in my opinion. On a side note, I'm proud of what Pepsi did this year. For those of you who don't know, you can find out here: http://www.refresheverything.com/ . (for shameless plug version, go here: http://www.refresheverything.com/TotemanEpilepsyPSA it's a great cause my friend is trying to fund, so please vote if you can). It's great to see a massive corporation do something positive, even if it is just good public relations.
That's all for today folks, thank for reading!
-Joe
I have to start with American Idol tonight. Ellen made her debut and she certainly didn't disappoint. I find her hilarious and she lived up to that here. Plus, she didn't argue with Simon, a rumor that I had hoped wasn't true and am glad to see that it isn't. That judge drama was getting on my nerves big time. Anyway, certainly glad to have Ellen on board.
The talent this season seems thin, but really strong among those who stand above the rest. Andrew Garcia, the young father trying to better his struggling family, completely blew me away tonight. Not only was his voice right on the money, but h has a beautiful tone to his voice and a soft yet commanding stage presence that warms the heart. Watch out for this guy; he's for real.
Moving on, Monday night is still my favorite pretty much solely due to The Big Bang Theory. This week had quite a bit of character development, all wrapped in the candy shell that is Sheldon's insanity. He was hilarious as always, begging unrelentingly for Leonard to take him to see the Large Haldron Collider rather than Penny. Problem is, it's valentines day and Leonard just wants time away with his girlfriend. I won't give it away, but the writers found a clever and surprisingly funny resolution to the conflict.
Going back a little bit further, I want to touch on the Superbowl commercials a little bit. I tend to disagree with the masses that the Doritos commercial with the protective child was the best. For me, a different Doritos commercial takes the title: the Dorito samurai guy. Hilarious. They really pulled out all the stops this year and spent a boatload on advertising. A smart move in my opinion for the extremely competitive snack food business.
Am I the only one getting sick of these talking babies? I mean, it's funny the first few times but then it starts to get creepy. Not to mention the fact that these children are posed for hours at a time for their parents' monetary gain. Bad, Etrade, bad. /end rant
Budweiserfelt pretty week this year, as did Coke. Although, the Coke commercial with the Simpsons was pretty cute. Could have used more humor, but it was fairly effective in my opinion. On a side note, I'm proud of what Pepsi did this year. For those of you who don't know, you can find out here: http://www.refresheverything.com/ . (for shameless plug version, go here: http://www.refresheverything.com/TotemanEpilepsyPSA it's a great cause my friend is trying to fund, so please vote if you can). It's great to see a massive corporation do something positive, even if it is just good public relations.
That's all for today folks, thank for reading!
-Joe
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Daybreakers
Due to ever increasing amounts of snow, I've been unable to see any movies this weekend. So I decided I would review an old one that left a pretty strong impression on me: Daybreakers.
In the year 2017, a large portion of humans have been turned into immortal, reflectionless, blood-craving vampires. Those humans who remain are captured and farmed for blood by a corporation named Bromley Marks. The chief hematologist at Bromley Marks is Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), and he is in hot pursuit of a blood substitute to counter the diminishing number of captured humans. After meeting with humans Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and "Evis" (Willem Dafoe), Edward is able to devise a cure for vampirism. No one at Bromley Marks, however, wants this cure to exist.
To start with, the idea behind this movie is brilliant. It ventures into unexplored territory in the underused horror/sci-fi crossover genre. The directors are able create this deeply fascinating world with a personality all its own, and all in the first few minutes! Not only is the story written extremely well, but the dialogue as well. "Life sucks and then you don't die," being one of my favorites. The vampire society is able to create many interesting conversations that otherwise would be absent in human dialogue. The only instance of poor writing is the ending. I won't give anything away, but it is fairly nonsensical and extremely open-ended. A small amount of open-endedness is a good thing, but this one is so wide open that the viewer is left feeling disappointed in the unresolved plot. A sequel could set this one straight.
The acting is absolutely fantastic for a B-movie. Hawke played his part well, putting just enough vampire and just enough humanity. His depressed look is all but perfected here. Sam Neill does a great job as Charles Bromley, giving the antagonist just enough of a human side to make the audience understand him. He isn't one of those over-the-top villains which the audience hates with a passion. Dafoe's acting was fantastic as well, a necessary breath of fresh air. His southern accent and witty dialogue marked a move in the screenplay from darkness to light; a move that disrupts the atmosphere, but ultimately allows the story to progress forward. He brought an amount of human and humanity to the story that kept it from being overly dark. Overall, superb acting cast. Even the extras fit their parts perfectly.
The only remaining flaw was the violence. Occasionally I found myself saying, "Is that really necessary?" as chunks of flesh flew in all directions. On further contemplation, however, I think it was completely necessary. A larger budget would have made it more believable and less cartoonish, but the violence was ultimately a strong device employed by the directors.
Were it not for budget limitations and slight flaws in the plot, this one would be getting a perfect score from me. Still loved it though. 4.5/5
-Joe
In the year 2017, a large portion of humans have been turned into immortal, reflectionless, blood-craving vampires. Those humans who remain are captured and farmed for blood by a corporation named Bromley Marks. The chief hematologist at Bromley Marks is Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), and he is in hot pursuit of a blood substitute to counter the diminishing number of captured humans. After meeting with humans Audrey (Claudia Karvan) and "Evis" (Willem Dafoe), Edward is able to devise a cure for vampirism. No one at Bromley Marks, however, wants this cure to exist.
To start with, the idea behind this movie is brilliant. It ventures into unexplored territory in the underused horror/sci-fi crossover genre. The directors are able create this deeply fascinating world with a personality all its own, and all in the first few minutes! Not only is the story written extremely well, but the dialogue as well. "Life sucks and then you don't die," being one of my favorites. The vampire society is able to create many interesting conversations that otherwise would be absent in human dialogue. The only instance of poor writing is the ending. I won't give anything away, but it is fairly nonsensical and extremely open-ended. A small amount of open-endedness is a good thing, but this one is so wide open that the viewer is left feeling disappointed in the unresolved plot. A sequel could set this one straight.
The acting is absolutely fantastic for a B-movie. Hawke played his part well, putting just enough vampire and just enough humanity. His depressed look is all but perfected here. Sam Neill does a great job as Charles Bromley, giving the antagonist just enough of a human side to make the audience understand him. He isn't one of those over-the-top villains which the audience hates with a passion. Dafoe's acting was fantastic as well, a necessary breath of fresh air. His southern accent and witty dialogue marked a move in the screenplay from darkness to light; a move that disrupts the atmosphere, but ultimately allows the story to progress forward. He brought an amount of human and humanity to the story that kept it from being overly dark. Overall, superb acting cast. Even the extras fit their parts perfectly.
The only remaining flaw was the violence. Occasionally I found myself saying, "Is that really necessary?" as chunks of flesh flew in all directions. On further contemplation, however, I think it was completely necessary. A larger budget would have made it more believable and less cartoonish, but the violence was ultimately a strong device employed by the directors.
Were it not for budget limitations and slight flaws in the plot, this one would be getting a perfect score from me. Still loved it though. 4.5/5
-Joe
Thursday, February 4, 2010
TV week of 2/4
So I'm not gonna lie, I didn't watch much TV this week. I did, however, enjoy what I did watch.
The first thing was Monday, The Big Bang Theory. I've loved this show for a while; I find it quite funny. The character of Sheldon Cooper is especially hilarious. This weeks episode was superb. Sheldon, in the process of trying to deduce why electrons behave as though they have no mass under certain conditions, didn't get any sleep for three days. Hilarity ensued. I really recomend this one, it was probably the funniest episode yet of this emerging powerhouse of a comedy.
Next up was American Idol of course. Again, I'm not feeling this season. It just seems gimmicky to me and it's not the talent show that it used to be. On the up side, only one more week until the debut of Ellen. Let's hope it gets better.
Next up is Thursday night comedy on ABC. All four shows (community, parks and recreation, the office, and 30 rock) were excellent as always. The Office was especially entertaining yet again. I feel like the show has finally returned to its winning form after a rocky season and a half. The episodes around the time of the writer's strike (before and after) were pretty poor, but the show is now returning to its full stride. This weeks episode centered around a Dunder Mifflin - Sabre merger and the unfavorable changes that it brought. It was very funny and didn't try too hard to be profound. The show isn't trying to be overly serious anymore and is just being funny, the thing that it does best.
Last and also least is the superbowl commercials special that played before AI on Wednesday. Not only were the hosts completely fake in their demeanor, but they also made tons of pathetic attempts at humor. The actual meat of the show, the top ten commercials of the decade, did little to remedy the shell that they were wrapped in. I'll pass on this one from now on.
Thanks for readin and enjoy the snow!
-Joe
The first thing was Monday, The Big Bang Theory. I've loved this show for a while; I find it quite funny. The character of Sheldon Cooper is especially hilarious. This weeks episode was superb. Sheldon, in the process of trying to deduce why electrons behave as though they have no mass under certain conditions, didn't get any sleep for three days. Hilarity ensued. I really recomend this one, it was probably the funniest episode yet of this emerging powerhouse of a comedy.
Next up was American Idol of course. Again, I'm not feeling this season. It just seems gimmicky to me and it's not the talent show that it used to be. On the up side, only one more week until the debut of Ellen. Let's hope it gets better.
Next up is Thursday night comedy on ABC. All four shows (community, parks and recreation, the office, and 30 rock) were excellent as always. The Office was especially entertaining yet again. I feel like the show has finally returned to its winning form after a rocky season and a half. The episodes around the time of the writer's strike (before and after) were pretty poor, but the show is now returning to its full stride. This weeks episode centered around a Dunder Mifflin - Sabre merger and the unfavorable changes that it brought. It was very funny and didn't try too hard to be profound. The show isn't trying to be overly serious anymore and is just being funny, the thing that it does best.
Last and also least is the superbowl commercials special that played before AI on Wednesday. Not only were the hosts completely fake in their demeanor, but they also made tons of pathetic attempts at humor. The actual meat of the show, the top ten commercials of the decade, did little to remedy the shell that they were wrapped in. I'll pass on this one from now on.
Thanks for readin and enjoy the snow!
-Joe
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